Do you think its the best to buy 3-4 low budget iems for a starter? (Brainwavz m1, meelectronics, koss KSC75, JVC flats etc) Or spend the 100$ to buy only one iem from the 100+$ category?

In general I would say that going for the $100 set if you can afford it is better than owning multiple budget earphones. However, there are exceptions that I think are pretty self-explanatory such as if you have a tendency to lose or damage your gear. I would also say that if you really know nothing or next to nothing about audio (but want to) and can't invest more than $100 initially to eventually settle on a set you like it might be worth it to explore several budget offerings just to narrow your signature search.

so, re262 also has an immersive soundstage.. similar to ck10? how close / different?

also you mentioned that it has bump in the lower mids.. so i take it, if i consider ck10 to be almost dead neutral except on the highest end and the lowest end, re262 would be like flat with a bump in the lower mids? does that means, male vocals better than female?

and.. how forward is forward? i always loved ck10 rendition of the mids, its simple forward-like, but still blends with the rest spectrum to sound balance.

I always felt that ck10 lacks that little bit on the low end to make me satisfied..

Do you think its the best to buy 3-4 low budget iems for a starter? (Brainwavz m1, meelectronics, koss KSC75, JVC flats etc) Or spend the 100$ to buy only one iem from the 100+$ category?

In general I would say that going for the $100 set if you can afford it is better than owning multiple budget earphones. However, there are exceptions that I think are pretty self-explanatory such as if you have a tendency to lose or damage your gear. I would also say that if you really know nothing or next to nothing about audio (but want to) and can't invest more than $100 initially to eventually settle on a set you like it might be worth it to explore several budget offerings just to narrow your signature search.

Gotta agree that for a 100$ budget owning one good iem will be the better choice (if worried about build you can get the Panas).

Likewise, if the budget is around 200$-300$ I think owning more than 1 is the better choice than owning one for 200-300$ imo. You get more options in regards to sound and more bang-for-the-buck.

so, re262 also has an immersive soundstage.. similar to ck10? how close / different?

I'd say it sounds bigger than the CK10 and portrays distance more effortlessly but the real strength of the CK10s presentation is imaging and on that count neither fares better than the other. One potential issue with the RE262 is that it can put too much distance between the foreground and background of a track which is fine for rock & metal IMO but when there's a single vocalist with some instrumental backing the instruments can get really pushed back (admittedly some may prefer this sort of emphasis).

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaEMoNteNTAcLe

also you mentioned that it has bump in the lower mids.. so i take it, if i consider ck10 to be almost dead neutral except on the highest end and the lowest end, re262 would be like flat with a bump in the lower mids? does that means, male vocals better than female?

Yes, the RE262 definitely has accented bass and mids over what I would consider 'flat' but part of the result is that sub-bass sounds relatively weaker than mid-bass (as opposed to the CK10 or something equally linear). I think the midrange hump encompasses female vocal bands as well, or at least wouldn't say that female vocals are weak or anywhere near weak with the RE262.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaEMoNteNTAcLe

and.. how forward is forward? i always loved ck10 rendition of the mids, its simple forward-like, but still blends with the rest spectrum to sound balance.

I always felt that ck10 lacks that little bit on the low end to make me satisfied..

thanks for your hard work on this. It really helps the community. :)

The CK10 is definitely not forward compared to the RE262. If you've heard the CK100 that's more like it. I don't think either the CK100 or RE262 is particularly unbalanced personally but if you prefer a more v-shaped sound they might not satisfy. You'll definitely get the bass boost you are looking for from the RE262 but be prepared for softer impact (compared to the sharp and fast CK10) and gentler attack & decay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulypaul

I think owning a couple of iems is good is the signature is different enough.

I have the RE-ZERO and M2 & M1 and the M2 still gets listened to everyday as well and the ZERO.

They both have something the other one doesnt.

M2 has warmth and bass emphasis.

The ZERO have detail and forward mids.

Well the ZERO and the Brainwavz earphones are hardly entry-level since you'd have a tough time picking up 3-4 of them on a $100 budget. I think these IEMs approach the level of something I could personally live with indefinitely.

btw.. i never liked v shape.. and will stay away from them. If i have to rate westones.. they would all perform very very poor.

for me, its inverted v, it will always be mids first, bass second, and treble last. eq7 fits this criteria kinda well, but it lacks the full body on the bass for me to consider it complete. ck10 does better in the presentation of bass, big drums can sound big rather than loud in ck10, despite it having what i consider less than ideal quantity. ck10 treble is also very smooth, and the peak more or less affects the sparkle rather than the quantity, plus its flat anywhere from below that point, so thats quite okay. Otherwise, i'll stay away from treble focused phone, ex-dba-02 included.

i dont like bassy phones either, i just need the 'right' amount of bass that will only be present when called for.